In its June 2000 report on "Commercial Item Acquisition: Considerations and Lessons Learned" , the U.S. Department of Defense advised that the use of commercial items "frequently means embracing commercial business practices that are embedded in the commercial item" and "many DoD requirements must be adjusted to accommodate both the vendor's anticipated uses of the commercial item and the vendor's business practices."

In the case of electronic parts, industry and U.S. government subject matter experts agree that the best way to avoid counterfeits is to buy these electronic parts from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or its authorized distributors. A commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) product OEM will frequently advise Read More

Despite recognizing the dangers of counterfeit electrical products and committing to avoid them, most purchasers do not realize the sophistication of modern counterfeiting techniques and think they can tell the difference between a counterfeit and an authentic product.
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The SAE G19CI committee recently put forward a proposed revision to AS5553 for ballot. This proposed revision included the following requirement … “Traceability of EEE Parts acquired from other than Authorized Suppliers shall be tracked to the lowest level of serialized assemblies.” I can interpret this requirement in several ways. Here are a few examples […]

“… on the path to IoT, the issue of data and device security looms large. … For Reinhard Ploss, CEO of Infineon Technologies, this is actually a plus. ‘The semiconductor industry opportunity is hardwired security to provide a backbone to which all applications can be attached.’ For this to happen, however, semiconductor companies must also […]

“… on the path to IoT, the issue of data and device security looms large. … For Reinhard Ploss, CEO of Infineon Technologies, this is actually a plus. ‘The semiconductor industry opportunity is hardwired security to provide a backbone to which all applications can be attached.’ For this to happen, however, semiconductor companies must also […]